This invention relates to herbicidal and insecticidal spray application and, more particularly, to a self-contained sprayer for performing multiple spraying operations.
Highway authorities throughout the world are faced with undesirable vegetation under and along fences and guardrails, and clumps of undesirable growth or vegetation in otherwise free or open areas. Insect damage to trees and shrubs is also a concern. Utility companies are faced with undesirable trees or shrubs growing under overhead lines. Farmers have undesirable weeds growing in their crops and brush growing up in their fences. Current methods of controlling these undesirable conditions are primarily hand mowing, hand cutting of brush, or spraying.
Heretofore, specialized non-steerable sprayers have been available for spraying along guardrails, as well as area sprayers with fixed length booms and limited vertical movement. Vegetation under overhead utility lines is sometimes sprayed by aerial means utilizing helicopters or airplanes.
Heretofore, extensible spraying apparatus of vehicle mounted type has been proposed, such as disclosed in High U.S. Pat. No. 2,95,307 which reveals a truck-mounted sprayer having a spray boom which can be folded for travel and extended for use but which is not intended for having its boom geometry controllable for ground contour following, nor reconfigurable for strip spraying. Agricultural spray apparatus is also known, such as Jackson U.S. Pat. No. 4,213,565 and the same has foldable booms, but such agricultural spray applicators typically are fixed only for applying liquids to fields and other large areas, and are not intended to spray weeds or other vegetation along highway rights-of-way or along or in fences and the like. Farines U.S. Pat. No. 4,447,007 proposes a tractor-mounted swivelling device for spreading liquids by spraying, including a boom having hydraulically positioned elements for allowing a single spray head to be positioned above, on, or below ground level with pivoting about three orthogonal areas, but not suited either for applying spray along the full length of the boom nor rconfiguring of the spray head for strip spraying along both sides of a strip.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide spraying apparatus which is unique in its ability to accomplish a variety of herbicide and insecticide spraying functions formerly carried out by such diverse types of prior art sprayers. Thus, an object of the invention is to provide a spraying apparatus having a steerable boom for applying herbicide bands along and under guardrail and fences, the boom being adjustable in length and height to permit its contour to closely approximate the area being sprayed. In such apparatus, it is also an object that the end section of the boom articulate to be rotatable vertically nearly 270 degrees for permitting vertical spraying of fences or trees. A further object is that individual spraying sections of the boom be selectively activatable for permitting spraying clumps of undesirable weeds or trees. It is an object also that the boom be configured so that when fully extended and elevated, it will permit spraying insects in large trees or spraying herbicides upon brush in fences or under overhead utility lines; and that the boom provide adjustable terrain contouring for efficient overhead application of herbicides and insecticides.
An object of the invention is to provide such a sprayer which, when carried inside the bed of a truck, can be rotated to extend over the truck cab a sufficient distance for an operator to view the end of the boom, the boom having a wishbone spray system capable of straddling a fence or guardrail and spraying underneath a rail and along both sides, thus providing strip spraying. It is an object also to provide for boom adjustments to permit the carrier to drive different possible distances from the fence by swinging the boom horizontally while permitting vertical adjustment of the boom tip section to be made, while also permitting the boom to be rotated to permit spraying on either side of the carrier.
Among other objects are the following: The sprayer can be used as a broadcast sprayer for large areas by removing the wishbone spraying system from the tip of the boom and installing a spray bar system containing a support bar, drop lines and spray nozzles. When used in this fashion the boom can be contoured to approximate the contour of the terrain being sprayed. The entire boom can be raised or lowered hydraulically to achieve optimum spraying height for the spray nozzles; the entire boom can also be tilted vertically above or below level, and the mid-boom section can be extended or retracted to give the desired width. Further, the tip boom section can be rotated vertically to match the area to be sprayed, e.g., from vertical for fences or brush spraying to below level for fill slopes or ditch banks. In the broadcast mode, spot spraying of brush or weeds is possible because individual segments of the boom sprayers can be activated by a control panel consisting of electrical switches which activate sprayer valves. It is intended that retraction of the boom will cause shutting off of spray nozzles on the support section of the boom in order to eliminate double-coverage spraying.
It is intended that the apparatus be completely self contained with its own power source to operate electrical, hydraulic and spraying systems of the apparatus, for permitting it to be carried in most trucks, on trailers or mounted on its own axle.
Among still other objects will be noted as follows: The spraying apparatus is controlled by a portable control console carried on the unit or in a truck cab, there being individual controls to permit activating any hydraulic function of the spray boom and to control operation of various combinations of sprayer nozzles. The unit is intended to provide precise spraying of weeds or brush in guardrail or fences, broadcast spraying of large areas, spot spraying of undesirable weeds or brush, treatment of insects in trees or shrubs and control of brush under overhead utility lines. Further, the new sprayer apparatus is suitable for use in highway right of way maintenance, utility line maintenance, in farming operations or in diverse land management operations, being a multiple purpose apparatus capable of applying herbicides and insecticides in a more efficient and more controlled manner than other, by use of apparatus or methods currently in use.
Briefly, the new spraying apparatus comprises a supporting frame holding boom supports, a power unit, a hydraulic system for providing hydraulic pressure to double-acting hydraulic cylinders which position components of the apparatus, a spray delivery system including pump, hose, valves and nozzles, and an electrical control panel. The boom is a three member unit which can be lifted vertically by means of double acting hydraulic cylinders in a telescoping upright post attached to a main frame of the apparatus. The entire boom can be tilted vertically, such as from approximately 30 degrees below to approximately 45 degrees above level. The entire boom can be rotated horizontally 360 degrees for thereby permitting spraying on either side of the unit. A mid-boom section telescopes inside a supporting section of the boom by means of a hydraulic motor drive arrangement. A tip boom section can be rotated vertically by articulating movement relative to the mid-boom section by hydraulically drive means through approximately 270 degrees for terrain conformance when spraying, and so that the tip boom section is foldable into storage position over the mid-boom section which retracts into the support boom section for transport. The tip boom section can be reconfigured to provide a "wishbone" drop for strip spraying which includes angular adjustment means for providing selective angular adjustment of the wishbone drop relative to the longitudinal axis of the mid-boom section for orientation permitting spraying along the length of a strip of vegetation as the apparatus is moved parallel to it.
Other features will be in part apparent and in part pointed out in the following description.